Inquest closure for murdered teen's family

Annette's body was discovered in her bed, with the cause of her death found to be blunt force trauma to the head inflicted with a piece of timber found in the laundry.

No one has been charged over her death, leaving her family with so many questions.

The first inquest into Annette's murder in 1991 was closed and subject to "reopening at any stage should further evidence become available".

Her family pushed for it to be re-opened, which it was in 2018, but adjourned weeks later and further delayed by COVID-19 and DNA tests in New Zealand.

Last month, witnesses took the stand in a hearing that continued this week in the Coroners Court sitting in Brisbane.

"I'm just glad that we kept pushing for justice and after 33 years I think we've got our answers," Annette's older sister, Linda Mason, said outside the court on Thursday.

"I think we're right there at the end of getting our closure.

"We just want that little bit more. We want to get someone charged and then we'll be there."

Retired police officer Brian Tighe, who investigated Annette's murder, told the inquest he has no doubt person of interest Alan McQueen was responsible.

Asked by the Mason family's lawyer Clem van der Weegen on Thursday whether he believed McQueen was the main suspect, Mr Tighe replied: "Not a doubt in my mind about that."

McQueen - who is behind bars for unrelated crimes - has previously been named as a person of interest in Annette's death.

Mr Tighe took over the murder investigation from Graham Ruge, who also took to the stand on the final day of the inquest.

Mr Ruge said McQueen's mother changed her evidence to police about the time her son came home early on the day Annette's body was found.

But she had been caught out a few times giving false alibis for him so Mr Ruge knew they could not always believe what she said, he told the inquest.

Mr Ruge also testified about a covert strategy to try and get information from McQueen and his brother Craig Gill in February 1990.

Listening devices were placed in the watch house where the brothers were being held to see what they might say about Annette's murder.

Mr Ruge spoke to Mr Gill about aspects of the murder in the hope he would go inside and talk to McQueen.

The detective said he was listening live when McQueen said to his brother: "Just stick to the story that mum told us to say."

The detective said McQueen wasn't a suspect early in the investigation.

"It was only later when a number of other people start saying that McQueen was responsible for it and the fact that he's looking for a false alibi that you start to think well maybe there was something in it," he said.

Annette's relatives sat through days of harrowing evidence, all wearing yellow - her favourite colour.

Linda Mason said the family's role in fighting for justice was finished and it was now up to coroner Terry Ryan, who is expected to deliver his report later this year.

"I would do it again a thousand times to get what we got this week," she told reporters.

"She hadn't even begun to live and it's just so sad that someone so innocent was taken. It devastates us every time we think about it."